Appliance and home improvement retailer Lowe's Companies launched Iris, a new cloud-based smart home system. The system lets homeowners monitor and control their home from anywhere using a smart phone, tablet, or computer with a free basic level of service. The retailer plans to roll ...

BlueStar cooking appliances have been selected for the third time to be featured on Food Network's popular show The Next Iron Chef: Redemption. The reality series features several professional chefs competing to out-cook one another and earn the Iron Chef title. "These outstanding che...

Samsung and its partners has invited public school teachers and students across the United States to participate in the Solve for Tomorrow contest. Winning teachers and students will receive products, software, and programming from Samsung Hope for Children, the Adobe Foundation, and ...

Just two years ago gift shopper still favored brick-and-mortar stores for their purchase, but a new report from Unity Marketing shows that online shopping venues are now consumers primary "go-to" destination for gift buying. "Not too long ago, the conventional wisdom held that consume...

Home remodeling is expected to make a healthy recovery in full year 2012, according to the Leading Indicator of Remodeling Activity (LIRA) from the Remodeling Futures Program at the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University. After spending two years "bouncing around a bot...

U.S. HVACR average distributor sales in June 2012 were down 1.8%, the first month-over-month decline this year, according to Heating, Airconditioning and Refrigeration Distributors International (HARDI). HARDI's Monthly Targeted and Regional Economic News for Distribution Strategies (...

Installed home technology is solidified in U.S. home builders' offerings as evidenced by a 1-year doubling of home automation installations in new homes, according to the 10th Annual State of the Builder Technology Market Study from the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA). The repo...

Worldwide sales of semiconductors was $24.38 billion in June 2012, a slight decrease of 0.1% from the prior month when sales were $24.40 billion, according to the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA). Sales in June 2012 were 2% down from June 2011's $24.89 billion, but SIA said th...